Trisomy 18

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Syndactyly

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Trisomy 18

Definition:

Trisomy 18 is a syndrome associated with the presence of a third (extra) number 18 chromosome.

Alternative Names:

Edwards syndrome

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Trisomy 18 is a relatively common syndrome affecting approximately 1 out of 3,000 live births, and affecting girls more than three times as often as boys. It is caused by the presence of an extra number 18 chromosome, which leads to multiple abnormalities. Many of these abnormalities make it hard for infants to live longer than a few months.

Review Date: 4/20/2005
Reviewed By: Neal Sondheimer, M.D., PhD., Division of Genetics and Metabolism, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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